


stealing kisses in the front yard

by lightningcanary



Category: Blindspot (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-18 12:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14853104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightningcanary/pseuds/lightningcanary
Summary: Anonymous prompt: Secret Dating AU + Coming outOr 5 times Tasha and Patterson reveal they are together





	1. 1: Rich and Allie

**Author's Note:**

> This took me way too long ahsgfa and it's only 1/5... (that being said, I doubt the others will be this long, but you never know)
> 
> Oh and in this part there's no coming out but there will be in the others ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

"Enver," she greets him. 

"Allison," he greets her.

She glares at him before sitting in front of him in the hidden table of the coffee shop they decided to meet in.

And why are they meeting? Well, it's out of necessity. A life or death situation. One that needs a gay intervention and soon.

They are planning a way to get Tasha and Patterson to finally confess their feelings for each other and get together. Because if Allie has to hear about how smart Patterson is or how cute she is when she's nerding out one more time, she's gonna kill someone. And because Rich can't stand the heart eyes at work and the moping when Tasha is out on the field.

Don't get them wrong, they love both of them dearly (don't tell Tasha Rich said that) but they can't take it anymore.

So that's why Rich Dotcom and Allie Knight are meeting in the farthest coffee bar from the FBI building they could find.

"We need a plan, and we need it fast."

"I have a few ideas."

***

Kissing Patterson is definitely Tasha's favorite thing to do.

She does it whenever she can, in whatever bit of skin she can find. She kisses her when they wake up, she kisses her before going to bed. She kisses her while they watch TV and she kisses her while she plays video games (she doesn't seem to care much about her character dying every time). She even kisses her quickly when the lab is empty for a few minutes. She kisses her whenever she can.

Right now, she's kissing her in the bathroom of the locker room during their five minutes break, fully aware that anyone could enter any time, which is why all their clothes are still on.

Patterson is sitting on the counter of the sinks, her legs wrapped around Tasha's waist and her arms around her neck, her right hand intertwined with her hair and desperately pulling her into their kiss. Tasha's hands roam up and down Patterson's back as she leans into the kiss and pulls Patterson's body closer to hers.

"Mmm, I thought Weller was never gonna shut up," Patterson mumbles into their kiss.

Tasha chuckles. "I know, me too," she replies before deepening the kiss and making the blonde moan. She smirks. "Careful, someone might hear," she teases her, laughing into another kiss.

Her phone starts vibrating in her back pocket and she tries to ignore it until Patterson says "babe, you should answer that."

Groaning, she blindly reaches for her phone, takes it out and puts it against her ear. She reluctantly breaks the kiss before answering the phone. "Zapata," she says while Patterson leaves a trail of kisses over her jaw.

Incapable of spending another second without kissing Patterson, Tasha slowly captures her lips again, trying her best not to make any sound, while whoever is in the other side of the line replies. "Hey, Tash," Allie says.

"Hey, Knight, how are you?" she asks, between kisses, turning her phone away from their mouths after talking.

"Uh... I'm... good... What about you?"

"I'm great. What's up?" She knows her voice is a bit breathless but she can't help it.

"I was just wondering if we are still on for tonight?" While Allie asks, Patterson bites Tasha's lip, who manages to stop a moan from escaping her lips but can't contain the initial gasp. She spends a few seconds completely still, eyes closed tightly as she waits for the wave of pleasure to pass. "Tash?"

"Yeah, uh. Yeah, tonight. Of course."

"Okay... I'll meet you at the bar at 9. There's someone I want you to meet. Bye."

"Bye..." Tasha says, having no idea what Allie told her because while she spoke Patterson decided to kiss her neck and took all of Tasha's attention.

Once she has hung up, Tasha pulls Patterson up from her neck and locks their lips once again, with more force than before.

***

**I already miss you...  
** **Is it bad that I wish you weren't going out with Allie tonight?  
Am I being selfish?**

**No, you're fine, because I wish I was with you right now. Can I go see you later?**

**Yes, please❤️  
I'll probably be up playing uncharted, anyway**

**Nerd  
I have to go, Allie's here**

Tasha locks her phone as Allie and a tall and beautiful woman approach her. "Hey, Tash," she greets her.

Before Tasha can reply, the other woman has walked up to her, kissed both of her cheeks and pulled away again, leaving Tasha stunned. "Uh, h-hi...?" she looks at Allie questioningly.

"Tasha this is Carla. She'll be joining us tonight."

***

"Hey, Patsy Patts! Any plans for tonight?" Rich asks Patterson after approaching her.

"Me, a glass of wine and a good video game."

"We're going out tonight. Put on something nice," he tells her and before she can protest he's gone.

She huffs as she watches him leave. She just wanted to have a relaxed night... But well, she guessed it could be worse, and he'll hopefully keep her mind off of her girlfriend. She's definitely not gonna dress up for it, though.

***

She should have changed.

She should have changed because Rich had the brilliant idea to take her to the same bar Allie and Tasha went to, because apart from the two of them, there's a third woman in their table, and she's gorgeous, and she's wearing the perfect dress while Patterson is wearing the simplest shirt and pants combination, and she won't stop touching Tasha and smiling at Tasha, and Patterson is irrationally jealous, and she hates Allie, and she really hates Rich.

She can't stop looking at them, can't stop chewing her lip and can't stop the bouncing of her leg. Rich realises. "Do you wanna go see if we can join them?" he asks. She can hear the amusement in his voice. She hates him so much.

"No," she grumbles, but Rich is already up and headed to the women's table. She groans before walking after him.

"Hello, ladies, mind if we join you?"

Tasha's head snaps towards Rich in surprise, but her eyes immediately find Patterson and her face lights up as a grin makes its way into it. Patterson feels her own lips turn up and some of her jealousy disappears.

"Rich Dotcom, what are you doing here?" Allie weirdly asks with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, hey, Patterson," she says smirking.

Tasha frowns at her while the third woman introduces herself to Patterson and kisses her on the cheeks. "Carla, nice to meet you." Man, even her voice is beautiful.

"Patterson."

Rich picks up a chair, puts it between Allie and Carla and gestures at Patterson to do the same. She sits between Allie and Tasha, since there's no space between Tasha and Carla. Why is there no space between Tasha and Carla?

"So, Carla was telling us about how she manages to work for NASA and model at the same time," Allie says, eying Patterson.

"Oh, really? That's amazing!" Rich says in an excited but unusual tone while Patterson practically chokes on nothing.

Tasha and Carla look at her in concern while Allie and Rich seem to be trying not to laugh at her. She fucking hates them.

The night goes on... And it's even worse being near them. Fuck you, Rich. She could be happily playing uncharted and not thinking about the fact that a genius supermodel is flirting and touching her girlfriend. And to top it all, Rich seems to be enjoying it. A lot. And Allie keeps encouraging Carla. And Patterson feels like she's gonna explode. She has lost count of the times she has been on the verge of grabbing Tasha and kissing her right there and then.

"Okay, I need to know," Carla says, leaning towards Tasha. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Uh... I..." Tasha mumbles. She looks down before answering. "No, I... I don't..." she says quietly.

They decided it was better not to tell anyone about their relationship yet. For the team's sake but also for their own, because their friends can be pretty... meddlesome. They want to have something be just theirs, at least for a while. Hearing her say she's single still stings, though.

"Mm... I wouldn't mind changing that," Carla says in a seductive tone, getting closer to Tasha, so close to Tasha.

Tasha gulps and leans back as far as she can while Patterson practically jumps out of her chair. "I-ah... Need some air," she excuses herself and leaves.

***

"Pa--" Tasha calls after her girlfriend while Carla leans back, away from her personal space.

Rich puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her from going after the blonde. "Let me take care of her."

She contemplates ignoring him and going after Patterson, concerned that the woman could be overthinking everything that's happened and belittling herself. But she also thinks maybe it's better not to pressure her, so she lets Rich go.

She's pretty sure she sees Allie smirk towards the direction they left, but before she can react, Carla is saying something about going somewhere and being back in a bit. She doesn't hear her because she's too busy frowning at Allie.

"What?"

"You've been acting so weird tonight..."

"Have i?"

"Yeah... First, you invite a random woman to our night out, then you let Rich Dotcom sit with us, and there's that smirk that has been on and off all night..." Tasha ruminates.

"Hey, she's not random, she's my cousin's friend," Allie defends.

"You never even talk to your cousin, Al."

Allie huffs. "Anyway, maybe I let Rich sit with us because he was with Patterson and I know how much you enjoy being near her."

Tasha's blush is instantaneous. "If you know how I feel about her, why did you bring someone else?" she mumbles.

Allie's only response is a shrug and a small smile. Tasha has little time to get suspicious before Carla gets back to the table.

***

Patterson can't breathe.

She can't stop thinking that Tasha is gonna realize she's not good enough, that she could have better and is gonna leave her, for someone smarter, prettier and taller. She knows it's irrational. She knows Tasha loves her and doesn't want anyone else, but she can't stop her brain from making up reasons why she would.

"Patts, hey!" Rich catches up to her. "What's wrong?"

Patterson turns around to face him, letting a deep breath out. "Nothing, there's just... too much noise in there..."

"Right... So it has nothing to do with Tasha and that girl that has been flirting with her all night?" he asks, shaking his head. She glares at him. "Patterson. Wake up. Tell her how you feel."

She looks at him for a few minutes, aware that he knows she's jealous even if he doesn't know where their relationship really stands. She takes a deep breath and looks away. "I'm gonna go home."

She walks back to the table and says goodbye to the three women. Tasha looks at her in concern so Patterson tries to silently let her know she's okay.

When she gets home she sees that she received a text from Tasha.

**do you want me to go with you?**

**No, it's okay. Enjoy the rest of the night.**

**Are you sure?  
I don't mind**

**Yes, really, I'm fine**

**What if I want to go?**

**Well, I won't complain if you do  
But don't leave for me**

**I don't think Allie would let me, anyway...**

***

Tasha spend the rest of the night distracted, thinking about Patterson. She told her she's fine and she believes her, but that doesn't stop her from worrying. Or from wanting to be with her.

Weirdly enough, Carla isn't all over her for the rest of the night, which she's actually grateful for. But even weirder is the fact that Rich stays, and Allie lets him.

When she gets to leave, she goes to Patterson's apartment and opens the door with her key.

Patterson is playing her video game on the couch so she approaches her, leans over the back of the sofa and, putting her arms around her, kisses Patterson's cheek. "Hi," she whispers.

Patterson, turning around slightly, brushes her nose with Tasha's and closes the distance between their lips. "Hi."

With a hum and a light kiss, Tasha walks around the sofa and sits next to Patterson. After a few minutes staring at the TV screen, she frowns. "You're still in the same location you were yesterday?"

"Yeah... I can't concentrate and keep getting killed..." She says, biting her lip.

Some minutes later, she finds a group of men and, in fact, gets killed. She's a lot stiffer than she usually is when she plays.

"Is it because of what happened in the bar?" Tasha asks. When Patterson's reply is just a grunt, she talks again, taking her controller to make sure she's listening. "Mi amor, yo solo te quiero a ti."

Patterson's gaze darkens, vulnerability on display. She looks at her helplessly for a few moments, before asking quietly "do you mean that?"

"Yes!" Her answer is immediate as she repositions herself on the couch and puts her hands over Patterson's hips. "I love you," Tasha says, making eye contact with her girlfriend. "Just you."

"She's so smart. And so attractive. And so into you. An--"

"She's missing the most important bit," Tasha cuts her off and waits until Patterson looks at her questioningly. "She's not you," she whispers, finally making Patterson smile.

The blonde leans in and kisses her briefly. "So you weren't into her?"

"Not at all," Tasha says, opening her eyes and letting her gaze fall to Patterson's lips before capturing again into another kiss.

After they break the kiss, Patterson nuzzles her way from Tasha's nose to her neck, wrapping her into a hug and sighs relieved.

Tasha holds her tightly before kissing the side of her head and relaxing into the embrace.

"God... tonight has been so weird," she says in a hushed tone after a few minutes.

They separate and Patterson asks "has it?"

"Yeah, first Allie brought that girl, I still don't know why, then you and Rich appeared, not to mention Allie and Rich spending hours together and not killing each other... And Allie has been so weird all night, really..."

"Uh... Wait," Patterson frowns.

"What?"

"Rich... took me to the bar you were in, made me sit with you guys... And then told me I should tell you how I feel..."

"Wait, do you think..." Tasha gets flooded by explanations as she pieces everything together. "They... planned that?"

"They totally planned that..."

"I mean, that explains everything... But what were they trying to get??"

"Us to date, I guess... Jokes on them, we are already doing that," Patterson chuckles.

"That plan was terrible..."

"Yeah, how did they know you wouldn't just go with Carla?"

"Oh, Allie knew I wouldn't... Maybe we should tell them... I know we said we'd keep it for ourselves but I don't think they are gonna stop..."

"Yeah..."

***

"I can't believe our plan didn't work," Rich says, flopping down on a chair next to Allie.

"I know... Last night was a fiasco," she says disappointed.

"We can't give up yet. Those two belong together!" He leans forward in his chair, finding a new wave of motivation rush through him.

"I don't know... Maybe we should just let them do it at their own path..."

"No, Allie. If we don't help them, who will? We're just giving them the last push..."

***

**meet me at the third training room in 30 minutes, we need to talk**

***

Rich walks into the room expecting to see his best friend inside but instead, Allie is in it, sitting on the floor and looking at her phone.

"You're not Patterson..."

"Uh...?" Allie looks up at him, confused.

"She told me to meet her here to talk about something."

"That's... weird. Tasha told me the same thing..." Allie says, getting up from the floor. "Do you think they know?"

He opens his mouth to answer but before he can, the door opens again and Tasha gets in followed by Patterson.

"Hey... What's... going on?" Rich asks as they stop in front of them.

"You wanted to talk to us?"

"Yeah. Last night."

"Last night? What about it?" he pretends not to know what they are talking about, just in case they actually don't know.

"We know what you were trying, Rich."

"We can expl--"

"It was the worst plan I have ever seen," Tasha interrupts Allie.

"Yeah," Patterson chuckles.

Rich and Allie look at each other guiltily and ashamed at being caught. But then Allie frowns. "But... then you..."

"We actually got you here to tell you something," Tasha says, biting her lip while Patterson's hand moves to intertwine her fingers with Tasha's.

Rich's eyes go wide as both his and Allie's gazes follow the movement. Allie's eyes snap back to the two women, who are now smiling.

"We've been dating for three months," Patterson tells them happily.

"WHAT?!" Rich exclaims while Allie's jaw drops to the floor as she gasps.

"And you didn't tell me?" she asks Tasha with a hurt expression.

"We wanted to see where it went before telling anyone."

"And we wanted it to be just ours for a while. We still do."

"You are the only ones that know."

"And we'd like to keep it that way."

Both Rich and Allie look at them with a grin on their faces. And after a few minutes, they go to hug them while congratulating them.

"I'm so happy for you."

"I have a million questions," Rich says excitedly.

"This is exactly why we didn't tell you," Tasha groans while Patterson laughs.

"Wait. So, I worked with Rich Dotcom for no reason?" Allie asks, making everyone laugh as they exit the room.


	2. Bill and Emma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I love this? Do I hate this? I don't know...  
> But I hope you enjoy it!

Tasha wakes up to the sound of rustling and a series of hurried steps from one side to the other. She rubs her hand over her eyes and stretches as she turns around in the bed to look towards the sound. Patterson is frantically picking up clothes and throwing them over her shoulder. "Babe, what are you doing?" she asks, her voice hoarse from sleep.

Patterson's head turns towards her abruptly. "Oh, good! You're awake," she says breathlessly. Her voice sounds higher than usual.

"Is everything okay?" Tasha asks, frowning and sitting up while Patterson runs around and into the bathroom, taking the clothes off of her shoulder. "Patterson?"

She gets back a few seconds later, clothes nowhere to be seen. "Yes, no. Everything is not okay. My parents left me a message. They are on their way," Patterson says, rushing her words out. "They will be in New York in about..." She looks at her watch. "50 minutes. So, you probably should get up and dressed if you don't wanna be here when they arrive..."

Tasha is frozen. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is slightly open, but she's not moving. She can't. Patterson parents. In town. She's panicking.

"Babe, you don't have to meet them," Patterson tells her, stopping what she was doing and approaching her girlfriend. "Actually, that's why you have to get dressed. So that you don't have to meet them yet," she says, tucking a hair strand behind Tasha's ear while Tasha's eyes slowly follow her and she tries to breathe. 

She nods slowly before swallowing the lump in her throat and ordering her body to move.

Patterson, biting her lip nervously, watches her walk into the bathroom with a combination of shirt and jeans in hand.

***

She's just finished tyding up the house when the bell rings. She brushes off the wrinkles of her blouse, getting ready to open the door.

"Hi, dad," she says with a big smile growing on her lips as she hugs her father.

He kisses the top of her head. "Hello, pumpkin."

"Hey, mom," she grins before hugging her mother.

"Sorry we came unannounced, your dad forgot to message you..."

"It's alright. I'm glad you're here," Patterson replies, leading them into the house. "But I have to go to work soon." She walks up to the living room table where she left her phone and checks it out.

 **Tash❤️:  
** **I'm sorry I freaked out...  
It caught me off guard**

She feels a rush of affection fill her at the apology and types rapidly.

**don't worry, I was freaking out too**

**right  
I love you**

A smiles takes over her face and she can't do anything to stop it, but she bites her lip to at least tone it down a little.

**I love you too❤️❤️**

"W****?" she hears her dad ask.

She looks up from her phone and finds both of her parents looking at her with a hint of amusement on their faces. "Uh?"

"I asked if this jacket was yours," he says, raised eyebrow and growing smirk, while pointing at... Patterson's eyes widen as she sees Tasha's leather jacket laying over one of the chairs in the room.

"Ah. No. T-that's... A co-worker's, I think. She probably forgot it the last time we hang out here..." she manages to say. It's not a lie, really. Tasha does work with her and she did forget the jacket the last time she was there. That same morning. After sleeping over. For the tenth night in a row. Her parents hum at her clearly nervous explanation.

"Who was that on the phone?" her mom points out, bringing Patterson's panic back into play.

"No one!" she answers too fast, locking the phone that she was still holding and hiding it in her pocket.

"Really? Because it looked like you were very happy about whatever they told you..."

"Yeah, honey. Your face lit up."

Patterson feels herself blush as her parents call her out.

"Is there anyone you are not telling us about?"

She gulps. "Uh... I... I have to go," she blurts out before fleeing.

***

**Mom:  
We want to meet whoever that was.**

**Dad:  
Yeah, if they make my pumpkin happy, I wanna know them.**

Fuck.

***

"So, we have a tiny problem," is the first thing Patterson says when she enters the office and walks up to Tasha.

Tasha stops writing on the paperwork she was doing and turns around to look at her. "What is it?" she asks, slightly worried.

She opens her mouth to answer but notices where they are as she looks around, so instead, she takes Tasha's hand and pulls her up. "Come with me."

They walk into the bathroom and Patterson checks every stall to make sure they are completely alone. "Patterson. What's wrong? You're starting to worry me..."

Patterson takes a deep breath before telling her about her morning. "So, you know how my parents were coming and you had to run away this morning so that they wouldn't find you in my bed?" she says in one breath, clearly nervous.

"Yes...?" Tasha says, slowly, as a blush creeps up her neck.

"Well, you forgot your jacket and they found it." Tasha opens her mouth but Patterson puts her hand up and shakes it. "That's fine. I told them it was a coworkers. But they also saw me smiling at your text and now know there's someone and they want to meet you," she finishes, panic in her own eyes that she can also see in Tasha.

They hold each other's gazes for a few seconds before Tasha breaths out. "Okay."

"Okay?" Patterson is still freaking out.

"Yeah. It's sooner than I expected, but I'm fine with it if you want this to happen."

"They don't even know I'm bisexual!"

"Oh..."

"Yeah."

Tasha can tell Patterson is not calming down so she tries to do just that. "Hey, look at me." She continues when her girlfriend locks eyes with her. "It's up to you to decide what you want to do. But whatever it is, I'll be there, okay?" After some time, Patterson nods and is going to talk but Tasha interrupts her. "Don't decide it now, take your time," she adds with a wink.

Tasha is gonna get out of the bathroom but is stopped by Patterson's hand on her wrist. "Wait." She walks the few steps that separate them and, with a hand on Tasha's cheek, she brings her into a deep, slow kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

***

She decides two days later.

And it's totally not because she doesn't like waking up alone. Or only seeing Tasha at work.

Okay, those things have something to do with it, but the main reason is that she wants to do it. She has wanted to for a long time but just didn't find the right time to tell them. And what better time than after having dated the woman she thinks might be the love of her life for 5 months?

She's still not sure about making Tasha meet her parents part, because even if she said she's okay with it, Patterson knows she's internally freaking out. And she doesn't even know who her parents are yet.

But she'll think about that later. Right now, she's focused on how and when to tell them.

She knows they won't take it bad. Actually, she's sure they'll be supportive. But for some reason that doesn't stop the nervous feeling in her stomach.

"I'm telling them tonight."

"Do you want me to be there?"

"Would you?"

"Of course!"

"I think it's better if you aren't."

"Okay."

That's how she finds herself that night standing in front of her door and chewing on her lower lip, trying to calm herself down enough to get inside. Maybe she should have asked Tasha to be there with her.

"Okay okay okay okay. It's alright. It's just your dad and your mom." She takes a deep breath and opens the door.

Inside, her parents are moving around the kitchen and the living room, making dinner and setting up the table. "Hi, sweetie."

"How was your day?"

"Go-good," she says, clearing her throat when she notices her voice broke. "I wanted to tell you something."

"Shoot."

"Um. Can we... sit down, please?" she asks, getting their attention. "It's kind of important."

They look at each other, frowning, before following her to the sofa. "Okay..." It's not until they are sitting down that she starts talking.

"So... Okay. Remember the other day, when you arrived and I got a text..."

"The one that made you happier than anything else?" her mom points out, starting to smile.

Patterson looks at her pointedly as she blushes. "Yeah... Well. It-- You were right. There's someone."

"Oh my God!" her mother exclaims, happily.

"Do we get to meet 'em?" her dad asks just as excited.

"M-maybe, but first, I need to tell you something. Remember when I was in high school, I had two best friends, Mike and Dinah, and everyone teased us about which one of the two girls would end up with Mike. But the truth is that Dinah was never interested in him and while I loved him and did think he was cute, I also thought she was cute."

"Patterson," he interrupts her. "Are you trying to come out to us?"

Her cheeks furiously redden. "I. Yes."

"Oh, honey. We know you like girls too."

"You do?"

"Of course! We know Dinah was your first girlfriend."

"Oh... Well, that makes everything easier," she says relieved.

"Is that why you didn't want to tell us about who you are dating now? Because it's a woman?" her mom asks.

When Patterson, looking at the floor, nods, Bill has a new question. "So, when can we get to meet her?"

"Dad," she groans. "I don't know..."

"Come on, we are not gonna scare her away, are we?"

Patterson is still not convinced but she really misses Tasha and she did tell her that it was okay, so she gives in. "Okay. I'll talk to her."

***

"How did it go?" Tasha asks from the other side of the line.

"It went well. Perfect really... They already knew," she giggles into the phone.

"Oh, that's great."

"They want to meet you," Patterson says while she bites her lip.

"Okay," Tasha says in a hushed tone.

"You don't have t--"

"I want to."

After a few seconds of silence, Patterson whispers "I miss you."

Tasha chuckles. "We saw each other two hours ago... But, yeah, I miss you too."

"... I could be there in 20 minutes."

***

"Mm, I could stay like this forever," Patterson mumbles against Tasha's neck as they lay naked in Tasha's bed, half of Patterson's body on top of the brunette's while she lazily kisses whatever bit of Tasha's skin she has closer.

Tasha giggles and Patterson closes her eyes, finally relaxed after the stressful day she had. "You probably should go home, though."

"I'm already home."

Tasha doesn't answer so Patterson, thinking that she has said too much too soon, opens her eyes only to find that she was wrong because Tasha is looking at her with so much love in her eyes that Patterson can't do anything but smile as she feels her heart beating louder. Tasha closes her eyes, her lips twitch and she turns her head to the ceiling. "You know what I meant," she says, biting her lip as she blushes.

Groaning, Patterson cuddles closer into the crook of Tasha's neck. "I don't want to leave," she whines.

"I don't want you to leave," Tasha says, putting her arms around Patterson's body and kissing her head. She pulls her on top of her and leads her head up until she finds Patterson's lips. "But your parents are only here for a few days, what will they think if you don't spend them with them?" she asks softly after a few kisses.

"That I'm with my wonderful girlfriend?" Tasha rolls her eyes as a tiny smile appears on her lips and she looks away before Patterson leans down and pecks her. The smile grows while she watches Patterson move a little off of her to look at the clock. "It's super late, anyway."

"Fine," Tasha says before rolling them around and pinning Patterson down against the bed. "Stay," she adds while she kisses her way down Patterson's body with a smirk on her lips.

***

They're doing this. They are really doing this.

She's fine. It's alright. She's just meeting the love of her life's parents, what could go wrong?

Everything. Everything could go wrong! What if they hate her and Patterson has to choose between them and her? She'd never choose her. (Tasha wouldn't let her either.)

Okay she knows that's extreme and not what's gonna happen. Her rational side is telling her there's nothing to worry about, but the irrational side is so strong and has her panicking.

She has changed her outfit seven times. Seven times! She never overthinks her clothes. At least not that much. It's only happened once before and that was for her first date with Patterson.

As they reach Patterson's door, Tasha takes her hand trying to ground herself. When Patterson squeezes her hand, she feels herself be able to breath again as some of the panic dissipates.

"Uh, just a heads up... my dad is Bill Nye."

"What?!" Tasha's head snaps towards Patterson as her eyes widen in terror. Patterson had told her her parents were called Emma and Bill but she didn't mention _that_. Not noticing this, Patterson goes to open the door but is yanked back by Tasha. "I... I don't know if I can do this."

"We don't have to," Patterson says, a hint of sadness in her voice.

She closes her eyes and spends some seconds breathing in and out. "No, I-I want to. Let's go in," she says, nodding her head before opening her eyes.

Patterson opens the door and leads her in. "Hello, we're here," she says, walking to the living room. "Mom, dad, this is Tasha," she adds as they reach the room. When Tasha looks up, she finds the two staring at her with huge smiles on their faces.

"It's, ah, it's nice to meet you," Tasha says, releasing Patterson's hand to offer hers for a hand shake.

"Oh, forget that. Just give us a hug," Emma tells her, approaching her and wrapping her arms around Tasha.

And suddenly, all her nerves are gone.

***

"So, how did you meet?" Bill asks while they eat dinner. "I mean, at work, obviously, but what is the story?"

"Actually," Tasha starts, biting her lower lip and looking at Patterson. "I don't think she remembers, but we met before I joined the FBI." She turns her head back to Emma and Bill before starting the story. "It was a few days before that. I had just moved into a new apartment and was wandering around the area to see what was around, you know? So I enter this little coffee shop and there's this woman talking to the barista at the counter. As I get closer, I start to understand what they are saying and basically she's asking him all these questions about stars."

Before she can continue, Patterson, who had been looking at Tasha lovingly, starts talking. "Mike and I do quizzes now and then," she shrugs. "I was showing him different constellations and asking him its name and important stars, pointing at them to make it easier on him, even. Anyway, I show him Orion and he gets it so I start asking about the stars and he knows none, but when pointing at the belt I ask him what those are and he doesn't know, Tasha comes in and tells him that that's Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak, Orion's belt, that the stars that I had asked about before were Bellatrix and Betelgeuse, the shoulders, and adds the rest of the stars. Then, before any of us can say anything else she asks Mike if she can have a coffee, he serves her and she leaves."

"You remember," Tasha says, amazed.

"Mike and I talked about that for about a month," Patterson chuckles.

"You never said anything."

"Neither did you."

Emma and Bill look at each other as their daughter and her girlfriend speak, smiling at the happiness that their daughter seems to have finally found.

"So, Tasha," Bill says, getting their attention. "What are your intentions with our daughter?" 

"Dad!!" Patterson yelps while Tasha's eyes widen and Bill laughs.

***

"How do you think it went?"

"I don't even need to ask them. They loved you."


End file.
